Component straightening machine



March 15, 1960 H. P. DIGGLE Er'AL 2,928,452

COMPONENT STRAIGHTENENG MACHINE Filed Jan. 17, 1957 9 Sheets-Sheet 1lnl/enfors llamma/za P Digy/e Herberl F. Pass Bruce NS/m't/L Auguszus D.VVi/lhauck By their Azforney March 15, 1960 DlGGLE r 2,928,452

COMPQNENT STRAIGHTENING MACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 17, 1957 Im/enfora Hammond P Digg/e Herbert 1? Pass Bruce A! Smith Augus zus D.VVi/lhauck By their Attorney March 15, 1960 H. P. DIGGLE ETAL COMPONENTSTRAIGHTENING MACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 17, 1957 I m/enlomHam/72000 P Diyy/e Herbert F [P055 Bruce A. Smith Augustus D.VVz'l/hauck March 15, 1960 H. P. DIGIGLE ETAL 2,923,452

COMPONENT STRAIGHTENING MACHINE Filed Jan. 17, 1957 9 Sheets-Sheet 5Inven fora Hammond P Digg/e Herbert F1 Foss BN/C N 5/711'26 Augustus D.Wi/Mouck By the/rAttorney March 15, 1960 Filed Jan. 17, 1957 H. P.DIGGLE ETAL COMPONENT STRAIGHTENING MACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 InI/cn tomHammond P Dz'gg/e Herbert E Ross Bruce N Smith Augustus .D. VV/Y/frauc'kBy their/1 tt'orney' March 15, 1960 H. P. DIGGLE ETAL COMPONENTSTRAIGHTENING MACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Jan. 17, 1957 lm/enforsHammond P Digg/e Herbert 1? Pass Bruce M Smith Augus tus D VVi/lhauck Bytheir Attorney March 15, 1960 H. P. DIGGLE ETAL COMPONENT STRAIGHTENINGMACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Jan. 17, 1957 Inven tors Ms 5 W W F ww orm H .Bruce A. Smif/z Augustus Z1 WzW/zaacl March 15, 1960 H. P. DIGGLEETAL 2,928,452

COMPONENT STRAIGHTENING MACHINE Filed Jan. 17, 1957 9 Sheets-Sheet 9Int/anions [lam/none P D/99/e /erberz F P055 Bruce A! Smifh Auyuszus DW/i/Maurk By their Aizorney COMPONENT STRAIGHTENIN G MACHINE Hammond P.Diggle, Hamilton, Herbert F. Ross, Winchester, Bruce N. Smith, Oxford,and Augustus D. Willhauck, Stoneham, Mass, assignors to United ShoeMachinery Corporation, Flemington, N.J., and Boston,

. Mass, a corporation of New Jersey Application January 17, 1957,Serial-No. 634,785

5 Claims. (Cl. 153-32 This invention relates to machines forstraightening the leads of components and then connecting them in rowformation to facilitate their .storage and/or orderly feeding into acomponent processing machine. While the invention is accordingly hereinillustrated as applied to a machinefor straightening and belting theleads of successiv'e electronic components, such as resistors,condensers, or the like having axial leads, it will be appreciated thatin certain aspects application'of the invention is not thus limited butmay have utility in the orderly processing of other elongated articles,especially those characterized by slender, wire-like projections. Theterm lead," as used herein, is intended to include in its meaning awire, tab" or other bendable termination and accordingly will beunderstood in its comprehensive sense.

' Various machines have been made available for automatically assemblingelectronic components in chassis. Large quantities of components ofdifferent sizes and electrical characteristics are now being installedby these machines in many types of circuits and widely differing formsof chassis. When printed circuit boards are used as chassis the machinescustomarily form successive axial leads in stable fashion and theninsert them endwise into preformed holes in the boards, as disclosed forexample in acopending application Serial No. 458,312, filed September27, 1954, in the names of Leon D. Alderman, Charles P. Cardani, Edwin S.Kant, and Henry'B. Kimball. If

other types of chassis be used, it may be unnecessary for an installingmachine to preform the leads to effect their electrical connection tothe circuitry. Almost invariably a higher production of moreconsistently reliable connectionscan be effected mechanically if theleads of the successive components have previously been straightened andbelted. This is because of the high degree of flexibility normally foundin leads and their tendency in the course of normal handling easily tobecome bent and intertwined, thus rendering it difficult to attainuniform control and positioning of them. To. facilitate the supplying ofcomponents in the large quantities and orderly manner required by amachine assembly system, it has become common practice to belt thecomponents of each type in row formationby means of tape, the componentsthen being conveniently packaged and available to an appropriatemachine, for instance, in the form of reels. United States LettersPatent No. 2,771,206, granted November 20, 1956, in the names of RichardW. Daniels, Hammond P. Diggle, and Bruce N. Smith, discloses one form ofmachine in which axial lead-type components have their leadsstraightened and are then belted by tape and accumulated on a supplyreel.

A primary object of this invention is to provide an improved machine forbundling axial lead components and the like, said machine to have a highoutput and incorporate lead straightening and taping means so organizedas to afford continuous control of the leads and permit rapidchange-over to adapt the machine for operation on different sizes andshapes of components. To this end, and

in accordance with a-feature of the invention, the-illus-.

fed into the machine;

ice

trative machine comprises two pairs of cooperative lead straighteningmembers respectively arranged to engage the oppositely extending leadsof successive components, each of said pairs having the lead engagingportions of their members rotatably movable toward and from a leadstraightening position, andmeans for conducting succes sive componentsinto and out of said position, said means comprising a raceway, a pairof radially slotted feed discs disposed to pick up successive endmostcomponents from the delivery end of the raceway andadvance them byengagement with their leads adjacent to their bodies,

respectively, and guide means defining a channel extending from theraceway, adjacent to said disks, and through said lead straighteningposition. lead straightening members of each pair are in the form ofrotary disks or combs, spaced in axially staggered relation on paralleloperating shafts and formed with peripheral coacting V-shaped notches.Preferably, the feed disks are also mounted on one of these shafts andhave their radial lead-receiving slots so disposed that their inner endsare respectively in phase and registry with the bottoms of said V-shapednotches, thus affording positive movement of the components and accuratetiming of operations thereon.

in accordance with another feature of the invention, there is provided,in a machine of the type indicated, means for applying tape transverselyof the straightened leads to belt them consecutively, and a transferwheel having evenly spaced peripheral teeth, said wheel being r'otatablymounted and disposed to receive the successively straightened componentsbetween consecutive teeth when discharged from said lead guiding channeland carry the leads into position to be taped by said means, the pitchof said teeth and the speed of rotation of said wheel being so relatedto the operating rates of said feed disks and said tape'applyingmechanism as to insure closely uniform spacing of the taped components.

The above and other features of the inventions, including novel detailsand combinations of parts, will now be more particularly described inconnection with an illustrative machine in which the invention isembodied and with reference to the accompanying drawings thereof;

in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a machine exemplifying theinvention, a portion of a door on a gear cover being broken away todisclose portions of the drive mechanism, including change gears;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the upper portion of the frameshown in Fig. 1 and indicating the arrangement of different drive gears;t

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line IIIIII of Fig.2; Fig. 4 is a viewin side elevation, looking into an portion of the machine frame shown inFigs. 1 and 2, and from the opposite side thereof; r

Fig; S'is a plan view of an upper portion of the machine, its framebeing partly broken away to show details of construction; Fig. 6 is asection on the line VI-VI of Fig. 5 and indicating means for adjustingthe path of the components through the machine;

Fig.. 7 is a detail view in side elevation of a raceway shown in Fig. 1and through which components'are Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view,with portions broken away, of means providing a channel for thesuccessive component bodies upon exit from the racey;

Fig. 9 is a view corresponding to Fig. 1 but having portions of themachine frame and gear cover removed to reveal lead straightening andtaping mechanismjf Fig; 10 is an enlarged view of component feeding andstraightening elements shown in 'Fig. 9, the com- PatentedMar. 15, 1.?60

As herein shown, the

' plained' t o obtain fromabout ZS OO components per hour r 3 ponentsbeing in positions they progressively occupy during operation of themachine;

Fig. ll is a section taken on the line XI --XI' of Fig. 1Q and,indicating a component in its lead straightening Fas on; a

'i Fig. 1 2 is. a, section, takenon the line} XII-:XH of .ig and.indicating a component trimmed; and V FigQlB'. 'sa plan view of the tapeapplyingmechanism andj theicomponent'feed wheel teeth showninFig. 1Q.The. illustrativemachine (Fig. 1). comprises a base 29. which supports ahousing or mainframe 22 "enclosingmost ofl the operating parts to bedescribed, and a gear cover 24 secured to.one side of the frame A motor216; within the, base :2 li is operatively' connected through.

reduction. gearing (notshown) to an endlessdrive chain 28 (Figsi.- -l, 2and. 11), the: upper end'of which is in r nesh with afspr ocket 30 (Fig.11). keyed ona stub. shaft ;32. journaledin. the frame. 22. and in thecover 2,4, Tlie outboardend of the shaft 32 haskeyed thereon a;g ear-34meshing with a gear 36 keyed on the outboardg endofa drive shaft 38 alsojournaled in the frame. 2 2; and in the coverisa 1 an hine m be 44 forcoupling it to a. lower composite straightening roll 46. This roll 46 isheld in assembled relation and causedto abut endwise a shoulder formedonithe sleeve 4 2 by means of a thrust washer, a lock washer, and anut47 threaded 'on the rightwhand end (as viewed in Fig. 11) of the sleeve.Thev sleeve 42 is slidably mounted o n an idler spindle548 one'end ofwhich is seated in the centrally *bored inboard end of the shaft 38and-theiother end of which has aireduced diameter mounting a thrustwasher 0, alcompression spring 5 2, a spacer- 54, ball bear ngs. 56; 56,anda snut 58.-

The, latter is normally mounted on the spindle 48 to 'hold the washer;50 yieldingly against an end of the sleeve 42 a Theball bearings: 56-are mounted in a cylindricalhousing 60 secured to the frame 22, thishousing having a cap 62 secured thereon bys'crews 64 (Figs. 4 and 1 1).-Ac c ordingly,*this arrangement perbeing. belted and e sence means ofiathrust washer,

a lock washer, and a nut 87 threaded on the right-hand end (as viewed inFig. 11')' of the sleeve 72. The'bearings 84 are mounted in acylindrical housing 88 (Figs. 4' and 11) secured to the frame 22, thehousing having a cap 90 secured thereto by screws; 92. r

The peripheriesof eachof the disks, 68 are formed with regularly spacedlead receiving recesses preferably in the form ofveshaped notches 94(Figs. 9, 10 and 11).

Thus thebottoms of the. notches of: the disks 667 are axially aimed foroperation in phase with. the bottoms of the cooperative notches ofgthe;disks 68 so that, as depicted in Figs. 10 and 11, substantially theentire lengths of both'leads of; successive components are pro H 24. Bymounting suitable later-mentioned change gears, after opening a door 40.

gressively confined and any bent orkinked lead portions are finallycaused by the pressureexerted by the alined cooperating bottoms of thenotches, when in proximate or straightening position, to coincide withan axis, which is normally the, longitudinal axis of their componentbodies A perfectly coaxial lead would incur no effec-.

.'tive displacement. from any disk. It will be appreciated thatditferentstraightening rolls, and perhaps diiferent disks withincomposite straightening rolls depending on the size of leads; will besubstituted for operation on) different sizes of components or ondifferent lead diarne ters The sleeve 72 issplinedtol a stub shaft 76,and

the lattergwhich has bearings iri the;frame 22 andj the.

gear cover 24, respectively, is operatively connected to the drive;shaft 3 83by means ofla gear 96- (Fig. 11) on the"shaft76 meshing withagear 98 onthe shaft 38; Preferably, and as shown herein,for supportingthe bodies of the successivecomponents in appropriateposi tion at thetime'ofithe final'straightening actions ofthe disks 66, 68, thecomposite roll 46 includes a body gripper "roll 100. (Figs; 10 and 11)provided with cornponent receiving v notches 102; The latter are inphase. with the notches94; Eachj componentbody having its,

, leads straightenedby: the cooperative disks, 616, 68 will be. urgedagainst the bottom centralizing walls of a notch 102 1byj the tread of:a. rubber-tired presser roll 104 included in] the composite roll 70,thus insuring coineidence ofthe axis of the component body with the axisofithe straightened leads.

ward face of the frame 22 is apair of parallel table.

hingebrack'ets 106,106 (Fig. 1)] for supporting acompouentflhandlingitable 108. Containers or holders for Q thecomponents C; to be'belted may be placed on this mits-a convenient andquick disconnect of the. straighten- V I v ctomponents.,into,v themachine viaan inclined raceway.

. ing roll, it only being necessary tofremove the cap 62] andslide.the..spindle 48 as-assembledwith the parts on being spaced on andkeyed to a tubulansleeve 721slid-K tableandan, operatonmay then:conveniently feed the 119l.;(1=i .,.1 a d ,7) "anda connecting, steppedchute 112;

(Figs. :1,;9jand 10) sometimesdesignated as of the.

,wiaterfallityper The raceway isasupportcd by upstand-r 'ing:meinbersj114, 11 4,respectively, secured to the;

arranged to conduct thebodies of successive componentsably mountedonjaspindle 74*."f1'he-lattenhasonegend seated in the centrally boredinboard: end: of a -stub shaft" 7 76 and its other end; projects with,reduced s'diameter beyond the sleeve 72 to carry a'thrust washed 78, acompression spring80, a spacer 82,; ball;bearing's 84,; 84, V

and a nut 86.. This :nut normally holds thewashen 78 V yieldinglyagainst an. end of. the sleeve 72.- The com-.

posited-01170 isheld in assembled relationand caused spaced jlower chuteguides, 118, 118,'a ll of. which are,

mounted on thetfirame 22. The lower ordeliveryendg offthe. chute- 112{is disposed within the frame 22 and into aj channel definedbya pair ofcomposite cam guidew y 0,-, (Figs: 1 m? 0) ha p i cross. sections;(except wherethe -rolls 100 and 104 are; accommodated), these guidewaysbeing separated heights wise to,providewspaced parallel passageways .124(one only shown, in. Figs. 11: and 12) for the oppositely extendingleadsh srindicated in Figs." 8, 9 and 10, the gpideway fifl is slidablymountedon cross rods 126, 126 andthe. gni deway 122 is slidably-mounted'on cross rods 128,128 the; rods 126,: 128 being securedjinwparallelrelaticm in;thefrarnelZa i V i ans,qntrctlisathetimtcuctiqnsci'thesucccssive -g he means by which successive components are.

ponents from the deltver-y e'nd of the chute 112 into the channel of theguideways 120, 1-22, and in evenly spaced relation for consecutiveadvancement into the succession of alined bottoms of the V-notches 94, apair of pick-up or feed disks 130,130 (Figs. and 11) is mounted on thesleeve 42 and keyed thereto. These disks are disposed adjacent to theexternal sides, respectively, of the guideways 120, 122, and have radiallead-receiving slots 132 disposed respectively in phase and registrationwith the bottoms of the V-notches 94. Each segment of the feed disksbetween consecutive slots 132 preferably has a perimeter the leadingportion of which is circular and the trailing portion ofwhich isflatted, better to enable the leading radial edge of'a segment to pickoff only an endmost component byits-l'eads and thus transfer it from thechute 112 and advance it in the path-determined by the guideways 120,122. An extensible leaf spring 134 (Figs. 9 and 10) secured onthe'g'uideway 120 has a lower, arcuate end disposed to engagethe bodiesof suc-- cessive components as they'are picked ofi and thus insure 22and in the gear cover 24. The spindle 162 is thus: rotatably supportedwith one end extending in an axial bore in the drive'shaft 164 and itsother end carryinga compression spring 166, a spacer 168, and rollerbearings 1'76, 170 mounted in a housing secured in the frame 22. For apurpose later mentioned, the-outboard end of, the spindle 162 carries agear 172 (Figs. 4 and 12), and a retainer nut 174 threaded on thespindle normally urges compression of the spring 166 against a shoulderof the spindle 162 yieldingly to maintain the spacing disk assembly 136in operative position.

that the leads enter the path determined by the gui'deways.Theadjustable'mounting' of -the spring -134 also serves to maintainalinement of the leads vertically prior to their pick off. This path, asmost clearly shown in Figs. 10 and'll, passes through the leadstraightening position, i.e., the path intersects the axes of acomponent body and its straightenedleads, as'constrainedby the proximatecoacting .V-notches 94, 102, and thereafter the straightenedcomponentis" moved along the path determined by the guideways 120, 122awayfrom the straightening position, and toward spacing and tapingmechanism to. be described.

In departing from the straightening position, each component is cammedout of its slots 132, 132 by reason of the arcuate course of the pathdetermined by the guideways 120, 122 in extending away from the sleeve42. A lower circular end portion of the guideways-120, 122 (Fig. 12) isclosely adjacent to an upper portion of a spacing disk assemblygenerally designated 136, the lead path as determined by the guidewayshaving substantially the same "curvature as the locus of the bottoms ofnotches 138 between consecutive biased teeth 140 periph-. erally formedon three spacing disks 142; The regular peripheral spacing of thebottoms of these notches 138 is designed to accommodate and hold asuccession of one particular size of component body in close,side-by-side, row formation to prevent wastage of tape about to beapplied transversely of the leads. It is to be noted that, upon emergingfrom the radial slots 132, a component is to be deposited with its leadsextending in three axially alined notches 138, and accordingly thespacing disk assembly 136 is driven in exact speed relation to therotational speed of the straightening rolls 46, 70, a diflerent assembly136 being substituted when componentsof different body size are to bebelted. It should also be noted that the guideway 120 is formed with asmall flatted cam portion 144 (Figs. 8 and 10) at its junction with theteeth 140 to enable the components to be almost continuously undercontrol in the machine but permit them to fall between, or be cammeddownwardly the depth of, the teeth without danger of jamming. Thebottoms of alined notches 138 thus cooperate with lead supportingsurfaces 146 (Fig. 8) of the guideway 122 and lead holddown surfaces 148of the guideway 120 to insure that each component will be maintained instraightened coaxial condition as it progresses through a tape applyingzone which, as later explained, may optionally include lead trimmingmeans.

The spacing disk assembly 136 comprises cylindrical spacers 150, 152,154, 156 (Fig. 12) which are keyed on a tubular sleeve 158 and held inassembled relation against a shoulder formed thereon by washers and anut 160 threaded onto one end of the sleeve. The latter is keyedinternally to a spindle 162 and splined at its other end to a driveshaft 164 having bearings in the frame Operation of the spacing diskassembly 136 at the appropriate speed is effected by means of gearingdriven from the shaft 76, as will now beexplained. A gear 176 (Figs-2and 12) keyed on the shaft 164 is in mesh with a gear 178 (Figs. 2, 3and 12) carried by a stub shaft 180=having bearings in the frame 22 andthe cover 24.

The outboard end of this shaft carries a change gear 182.

meshing with a changegear 184 secured on the outboardend of a stub shaft186 journa'led in the frame 22 and the cover 24. Agear 188 fixed on theshaft 186 is driven by a gear 190 secured on the shaft 76. Safetymeans'are provided, though not explained herein, whereby upon opening ofthe door 40 (orany other access coversrnounted on the frame) tosubstitute change gears or for other purposes, a control line connectinga start-stop switch 192 to'the motor 26 will be electrically interruptedto prevent machine operation.

In orderto cut and belt the leads of the straightened and spacedcomponents just before they emerge from between the guideways 120, 122,the machine-is pro vided with cooperative'pairs-of presser rolls 194,194 (Figs. 10,- 12 and 13) and, if desired or needed, rotary shearknives 196 coacting with anvil knives 198. For supplying the continuousstrip material for belting the leads extending from corresponding endsof the compo v nents, tape is supplied from detachably mounted reels 210(Figs. 1 and 9) and applied in confronting or overlapped relation. Theupper or top tape is designated TT and the lower tape is designated LT.

Inorder to accumulate the belted components at the front of the machine,a reel 250 (Figs. 1 and 9) is de tachably mounted and will be rotatedcounterclockwise (as viewed in Figs. 1 and 9) to wind in thestraightened, trimmed, and belted components as rapidly as they areprocessed in the machine and their tapes can be released with thecomponents from the spacing disks 142.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that this invention provides acompact, versatile, and highly productive machine for straightening andbelting coaxial lead components.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desired tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine for straightening the leads of coaxial lead typecomponents, comprising a plurality of axially spaced rotary disks, asecond plurality of axially spaced rotary disks interdigitally disposedwith respect thereto, each plurality being divided axially intosimilarly spaced groups, the disks of at least one of these pluralitiesbeing provided with peripherally spaced recesses the bottoms of whichare shaped to constrain a portion of each lead against relativemovement, means for rotating both pluralities of disks so that the leadengaging bottoms of the.

sesame:

saidi disksbeing: formed? with V,-shaped; recesses; and the;

bottoms; of. said. recessesof one. memberbeing axially alinedtocoroperate atria lead straighteningposition with the=bottoms of saidrecessesofthe coacting member to determine; the direction ahead is toextend from its 1 component body, means: for conducting successivecomponents into and'out of saidposition, said means comprising Ia;raceway, guidemeans defining a component body-receiving channelextending from the raceway, between said pairs, and through saidposition, and a pair are; in' proximaterposition, said'rrece'sseszabottom widths substantially:equal. tcnthmtbicknessbf a. lead; to

,of radially slotted feed: disks disposed to pick up successivecomponents from the delivery end of the raceway andadvance them throughthe channel by engagement with theirdleadsadjacent to their componentbodies, and meansffor synchronizing the action of;the straightenlngmembersrwith that of the conducting means.

5,.A machine forstraightening coaxial leadsof components comprising apair of cooperative, composite rolls respectively mounted for rotationabout parallel axes,

V eachegof said,r01ls includinginterdigitated V-notched disks disposedin axially spaced groups to' engage and axially faline the leads ofsuccessive'componentsrwith the axes of, their respectivebodies, apassageway extending bemeans for causing substantially simultaneousengagement with the leadsof the successive components of the. walls ofthe alining notches in the pair of rolls.

4. A machine for processing axial lead components comprising a frame, apair of shafts mounted therein,

constrain: it. between: them,; at pair. ofrrotary feed. disks mounted:on one:v of? saicb shafts and. havinggqradial. slots adaptedhto receiveand advan'cewther successive: components to. be: straightened guide:means cooperative with said radial. SlOtSrilTIhGI-CODISEZOf.I10Iatl0n 0fsaid feed disks and formed tosreceive the: component bodies to conduct:theqeomponentsh successively into and out of said proximatep'osition.forstraightening, and means for causing substahtiallyv simultaneousengagement with the leads of. the; walls ofi. the collaborating:recesses.

,5. A machine fonstraightening the.leads of: compo fnentsicomprising-2a; plurality-wt axially spaced rotary disks, asecondplurality .ofi-axially; spacedlrotary disks interdigitallydisposedrwith' rcspectthereto; each. of the disks of saidpluralities.abeing;providediwith peripherally peripherally recessedmembers rotatably mounted on 7 each of said shafts, the recesses of saidmembers on one shaft being axially alined and peripherally spaced toreceive'the leads of a component and straighteningthem in collaborationwith corresponding 'recessesyof the mem-: 4 bers on the other shaft whensaidcorresponding recesses spaced v-s hapedyrecesses, means: i for;rotating-bother plus 'ralities of disks; so that lead: engaging; bottczoms: of the peripheral :recesses; are: iniphasev to effect axialalinement of consecutive leads fed. therebetween, means :for feedingsuccessive components between. the; pluralities? of disks in.time;relationrtotheir; operatinggspeed, said pluralities ofdiskswbeing; in dividedarrangernent to accommodate thecomppnent, bodies,anmmeanst for maintaining the 1 bodies of the componentssin axialalinement with the lead engaging bottoms ofz said recesses,

arms-ca Cited: ta are; file ofitli isfpatent

